Sarah Jerath was born in 1968 in Wigan, England. At age 5 the family moved to a house on a sandstone quarry hill in Lancashire. Her imagination was and remains captivated by the woods and fields in the surroundings, the landscapes of the Lake District and Snowdonia.
Her work with clay, using natural materials found along the streams and up the hills, is an expression of her closeness to the natural environment and the elemental; “Nature is our home, and it is who we are in earthly form”, she says. The environment around her is a major influence on her work; she collects foraged materials, beach peat, river stones, sometimes fossil clays, and incorporates them into her clay, producing the rich textures that are characteristic of her pieces.
Her elemental, organic forms are often inspired by ancient primitive pottery. The process and making is as important as the finished vessel. “The process of clay is an ancient art embedded in cultural paradigms”, she says. “The markings, simple processes and forms of early artisans are a reminder of my journey, and of the journey of humanity with clay”.
